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LCD monitors are a tricky industry for consumers. Like many technologies these days, there is a lot of variation in what’s under the hood and how much it costs. While the discerning vs. non-discerning buyer usually finds their right way in a purchasing decision, there is always the opportunity for any buyer to make a better purchase with even a small amount of education.

One of the best kept technology secrets for almost a decade now has been IPS screen technology. An acronym for In-Plane Switching, IPS screens have stood out against their Twisted Nematic (TN) and Vertical Alignment (VA) brethren with significantly better viewing angles and more accurate color reproduction.

In a nutshell, the different screen technologies like IPS and TN differ primarily in how the light refracted as it passes through the multiple layers in the liquid crystal display and thus the effects of those differences. Think of it like a set of blinds on your window: you might be able to see better or worse through the blinds depending on how they are rotated and shifted to let light through.

Source: TFT Central

When current is applied to a TN panel and the liquid crystal molecules rotate, their alignment is such that less light is transmitted when you view the screen from an off-angle. This also affects the color accuracy and vibrancy, as the light that carries those colors is not the same as it is when viewing straight-on.

An IPS panel is able to arrange the molecules more ideally for better light transmission even at wide viewing angles, which also improves color transmission significantly. The downside to this is that a second transistor is needed to pass the current through each pixel, which blocks some of the light transmission. To see a demonstration of the difference in viewing angles between TN and IPS panels, check out this video:

So, to recap, while IPS improves light transmission at wider viewing angles, it does so at the expense of overall light transmission. Thankfully there is an easy solution to that: more power! Brighter backlights are needed on traditional IPS displays to overcome the additional light blockage. With early IPS technologies, this resulted in poorer contrast ratios and slower response times.

Over the years, industry has spawned a number of IPS variants, including S-IPS, H-IPS, P-IPS, E-IPS, and the not-to-be-confused eIPS. Most of the disadvantages have been solved through the similar, but varied IPS technologies. The big one that was left to be tackled was cost. Due to the added transistors and more powerful backlights, IPS technology was more expensive. Enter: eIPS.

The model in question today, Dell’s UltraSharp U2412M, uses an eIPS panel. One of the newer variants, eIPS was developed to lower the cost of IPS technology and make it more mainstream. This is done by using a more transparent matrix and a simplified subpixel structure. The less complex design reduces manufacturing costs and the more transparent matrix means the backlight doesn’t have to be as powerful. These changes reduced cost significantly, but also reduced viewing angles somewhat compared to other IPS technologies. Despite this, eIPS is leaps and bounds above your typical low-end TN display.

The U2412M uses a 24-inch eIPS panel, with an LED backlight that reduces power consumption and packaging size. Resolution comes in at 1920×1200 (WUXGA), a nice change from the common 1920×1080 seen on so many models in this price range. It has many of the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect in a premium monitor. Input options consist of VGA, DVI, and DisplayPort; either DVI or DisplayPort are easily adaptable to HDMI if you have such a need.

A four-port USB hub is built into the panel as well, which is especially convenient for laptop users, as they can dock at their desk with a single USB cable, monitor connection, and power cable. Dell doesn’t include a DisplayPort cable for some reason, but the rest are in the box for you.

One of the standout features of Dell’s premium UltraSharp line is their Premium Panel guarantee. Dell guarantees to replace your display any time within the 3-year warranty period if you find you have a bright pixel. The only catch to this is that dead pixels (unable to display correct color) are not covered, only bright pixels (pixel remains permanently lit). The other part of the 3 year warranty is complimentary advance exchange, where Dell ships you a replacement monitor if you need warranty service. Then you just drop your defective unit in the same box and send it back, all on Dell’s dime. It doesn’t get much more convenient than that.

This deal is the best price we have seen on the impressive U2412M in quite a while. After a 15% coupon code and additional stackable 5% code, you can pick up the U2412M for just $297.97 with free shipping.

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Well, having more vertical pixels one would guess that if 1920*1080 works for you, this one should work even better, wvwn though things will be smaller on screen due to the reduced diagonal size.

jah1subs

IIRC, 1920×1080 does not work below 26″ diagonal. That said, multiplying the ratios 24/27 and 1200/1080 and assuming that the character sizes are the same (measured in pixels) suggests that you’re right but I am still hoping that someone who has such a display would say one way or the other for certain..

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CNOMS7TIOECZIRRTLAYM3LOYOQ M

The colors and viewing angles on this monitor may be great but this unit is far from ideal for a significant segment of the population as its 8ms response time would produce too much ghosting for most FPS games and fast action videos/films.

jah1subs

Since I do not play video games, I would only be looking at this for watching DVDs or BDs or YouTube and for office tools. That said, your comment seems right for video games, especially FPS.

utera

response time is complicated, theres lag from pixels shifting and from the scaling processor if there is any, and of course the claimed rating can be a bit questionable…grey to grey, best case scenario, so for most gamers the difference isn’t going to be noticable.

CarolDru

WUXGA what does this acronym mean?

Roxy Din

Now our technology is going on an advanced way and this LCD TV is the result
of their improvements. Yes I know we all people are interested to use this
types of TV and maximum people are also using these because their picture quality,
style, sound system, etc, all things are too better than old model TV’s.

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